-Tehelka A public issue is not truly public unless Markandey Katju has passed judgement. Rahul Kotiyal and Ajachi Chakrabarti stand downwind "Journalists" writes Markandey Katju, with little sense of irony, "comment on everything under the sun." He goes on to say that when the shoe is on the other foot, when someone comments on journalism, it is misconstrued as an attack on press freedom. That when he announces he is appointing a...

-Live Mint MoEF notification on 5 February says linear projects such as roads, canals wouldn't require gram sabha consent A move by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to exempt promoters of so-called linear projects such as roads, pipelines and canals from seeking the consent of village councils in forest areas will likely be a non-starter unless the government moves to amend the forest rights Act (FRA). MoEF issued a notification on...

-The Hindu Business Line Kolkata: The West Bengal State Election Commission on Monday moved the High Court seeking a stay on the notification issued by the State Government regarding panchayat polls (rural polls). The petition was filed before Justice Biswanath Samaddar. The matter is expected to come up for hearing tomorrow. The Panchayat Department of the State Government had last month (in March) issued a notification to conduct panchayat polls in two phases...

-The Telegraph The Supreme Court has held that criminal cases, particularly corruption-related, cannot be quashed because of prolonged delay in trial. The recent ruling assumes significance against the backdrop of a pile-up in cases and a perception fuelled by time lag that those charged with corruption usually get away lightly. The Supreme Court's decision came while it refused to quash a 27-year-old graft case filed by the anti-corruption bureau against the then deputy...

-Down to Earth They turn a blind eye to laws overriding tribal rights, complains national commission GOVERNORS of states with sizeable tribal population have come in for indictment over not performing their special administrative roles. To ensure partial autonomy in tribal areas, the Constitution entrusts governors with immense powers to supervise the administration and governance in such areas. They can allow or disallow any law or development programme in tribal areas to...